The Angel Within
by Trini08
Summary: A story about angels, humans and the history of the Winchester Boys. general spoilers for season 4. Answers some of the questions floating through my head.
1. The mission

**_ok, here is my little take on what's going on. We all know that Dean will be possessed by an angel by the end of the season, but what if thats not really the case? And why is it that Sam is the only one of the special children that has an older sibling, and yes, i know a few have younger siblings, but most are only children. And also, why did Anna randomly decide to Fall so recently? I mean, she's about the same age as Dean is, if not a little younger, and we know that the tree her Grace was in appeared suddenly. Why Fall now? This is my answer to all those questions and more._**

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Anna stood as her garrison and she were address by Zachariah. She listened as he described a dangerous mission, one that would entail years of separation from heaven, heartache and despair and what was even worse, a possibility of decades in hell. All, to possibly prevent an apocalypse that no one could be quite sure was even going to happen. Of course, all the signs were there, and they had been watching as a demon gathered mothers for soldiers in his army. Even what this demon intended on doing with these future children was unsure. Anna was annoyed with all of this. She wanted concrete proof before sending someone into damnations, but that wasn't how here superiors felt. As Zachariah finished his explanation of the mission, he asked for volunteers. Deep inside, she honestly did not know whether to expect everyone to volunteer at once or for no one to volunteer at all. She was shocked however when her second in command, Othniel, spoke up.

"I will do it." He stated, striding from next to Anna to the front of the group. Part of her wanted to tell Zachariah that he had to take someone else. She had grown too close to this member of her garrison, as she had to Castiel and Uriel; they had all been stationed together for so long. She didn't know what she would do if she lost him forever.

"Whatever you need of me, I will do it." Othniel stated, staring Zachariah directly in the eyes. _Even he knows this type of mission isn't for senior angels_, she thought.

"Very well." Zachariah said, turning from Othniel to the rest of the garrison. "All of you will be called upon later to watch over your brother as he completes his mission. You're all dismissed."

As the other angels dispersed, Anna stayed by Othniel's side, along with Castiel and Uriel. Anna embraced her brother.

"You are very brave, Othniel." She said, not releasing him from her grasp. "Very, very brave, my brother."

She took a deep breath and stepped back from him. Castiel stepped forward and gasped his arm, repeating similar sentiments as Anna did. She knew the two were close, and even though they were rarely stationed together, they had both served together since the beginning as well. Uriel, on the other hand, was someone Othniel was not as close to. They had never been stationed together, despite being in the same garrison; Uriel was more often working side by side with Castiel. Still, she watched as the angels exchanged words of encouragement. Anna also knew how uncomfortable Uriel had to be with hearing this assignment, he still somewhat resented the humans, or 'mud-monkeys' as he called them. So to hear that one of his fellow angels was going to voluntarily become one of them for an unknown period of time, it must have rubbed him the wrong way.

After goodbyes were spoken, Castiel and Uriel both left, leaving Anna alone with Othniel. The pair stood motionless and silent for some time before he spoke.

"It seems that you will need a new second in command for the garrison. Who will you choose?" He asked, his head tilting to the sidle slightly.

"I will do no such thing. Your place in the garrison is secure for you when you return from your mission." She replied. How could he even think about her replacing him? He was her best friend, he could never be replaced. She reached for him again and drew him into a tight embrace. After several moments, he broke away from her.

"I need to see Zachariah for further instructions. Goodbye, Anna." He said before walking away.

Days passed, Anna worried about Othniel and what he was doing. She was sure that he had left for his mission on earth already and that made her worry even more. Even as she worried, she had faith that God would not let anything horrible happen to him and that he would be safe. She had faith that this assignment was needed and that it would all turn out ok. Only a few days after the last time she spoke with Othniel, Zachariah approached her.

"Othniel asked that you keep this until he returns." He stated, holding out a single, tear-drop shaped jewel for her to take. It seemed to glow on its own as she held it in her hand. There was a small silver chain that went through the middle so that she could place it around her neck. Angels had no possessions, so she was confused as to what it was.

"It is his Grace." Zachariah stated, sensing her confusion. "He will need it back upon completion of the mission."

"His Grace?" She repeated to herself quietly. Then, as if suddenly realizing what that meant, she grew angry. "His Grace! He had to rip out his own Grace for this mission you sent him on!"

"It was God who sent him on this mission, Anna, not I." Zachariah warned. "He is doing God's work now. We must have faith in our brother and in God."

Zachariah, again, left without saying anything further. Anna sank to the ground, grasping the tiny jewel in her hand tightly.

"Oh, Othniel." She whispered.

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_Meanwhile, on earth_

Mary Winchester paced back and forth in the small room. In the back of her mind, a voice was screaming that the shooting star she'd seen some nights ago was an omen of some sort. The hunter in her still knew all of that, but she pushed away all those thoughts, trying her hardest to maintain her normal life. A life she'd started with John Winchester, a life she'd made a deal with a demon to have. She glanced at her watch for the hundredth time. _One more minute_, she thought.

Mary closed her eyes and took a deep breath. No matter what happened next, she told herself, her whole life would change. She reached for the small object on the counter. As she glanced at it, she thought she could cry.

"John!" She yelled. It only took him a few seconds to reach her.

"What? Mary, are you ok?" He asked as he pushed the door to the small room open, concern evident in his voice.

"We're going to have a baby!" She squealed, jumping into his arms and kissing him, all thoughts of demons and deals forgotten.

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**_I must say that I picked the name rather randomly. I looked up names on and picked on I liked. I hope you like it, and i do intend on continuing it. Next will be Mary's death and Anna falling. Please R&R._**


	2. Falling

**_Aw, c'mon. Does this suck that much that i dont get any reviews? Not even one? i really tried with this one. Heres the next chapter any way. Links to A Very Supernatural Chirstmas if ur worried about spoilers. I hope you enjoy it. And yes, i know the timeline may be a bit off, Anna isnt that much younger than Dean, but its what works for my story._**

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Anna knew from the moment she'd heard about this mission, that it would be a lengthy one. One which would take years upon years for anything to occur at all. She knew that after several years, the mothers deal would come due with the demon, but what that entailed she had no idea. She kept an eye on her fallen brother, knowing that she couldn't be seen. Although, she could have sworn that one day as she watched him sleep in his nursery, he had woken up and seen her. She was sure of this because he had smiled, even when there was no one in the room. The birth of the second Winchester son had also been expected. Even the angels knew that this demons plan included infants. However, nothing could have prepared them for what happened that fateful day in November, when the mother was burned alive on the ceiling by the demon, and the sons were plunged into a life of darkness and sadness and horror.

This is what upset Anna the most, that all of her fellow angels were ordered to just stand back and watch as one of their brothers was left to live such a life. It pained her to watch this young boy grow up without knowing the love of parents who really cared for him, to have to be the adult in the family at the tender age of six years old.

One night it became too much for her to handle. She had gone to Zachariah, several times in fact, begging him and pleading with him, to call off the mission and bring their brother home. He had simply ordered her to do nothing and to continue watching over the family. So she continued to watch silently, as her feelings of doubt ate her up inside. She was rather sure that he could no longer see her, as he had stopped looking in her direction when she stood in the room with him, so she just watched him. She watched as he patched up his fathers injuries, whether they were from a hunt or from a drunken brawl in a bar. She watched as he went hungry just to give his brother enough to eat. She watched as his father taught him to hunt while other children his age were going to school and having what the humans called "play-dates".

She wanted so desperately to help her brother, to give him back the life he had lived for those first few years of the mission, the life that every other human had. However, her orders were clear. She was to watch, but not interfere. So with the doubt firmly planted in her, she began to plot what she could do to help, and hopefully, what she could get away with.

The opportunity presented itself when she was watching the father talking with another hunter. They were talking about amulets and other protection devices. Things that protected you from evil. She still carried Othniel's Grace around her neck on the small, silver chain. She removed the chain and held it tight in her hand, concentrating on what one of the amulets she had seen looked like. She felt it transform beneath her fingers and when she opened them, it looked just like the little bronze talisman that lay on the table between the men. She waited until after the father had moved on with his two sons before presenting herself to the hunter.

"Do not be afraid." She stated, choosing to appear in a similar form that the humans expected of angels. A woman in a white flowing gown, with white wings, glowing in bright, white light. "I do not mean you harm. I have a mission for you, Caleb. Deliver this talisman to Robert Singer, so that he can give it to John Winchester. He mustn't know that it came from me. It is for his protection and the protection of his boys."

Caleb nodded, his mouth slack and eyes wide with shock. He held out his hand to accept the pendant from Anna, she placed it in his hand and he looked back and forth from it to her.

"No one can know of our meeting. This must be kept secret. The truth will reveal itself in time." She warned, knowing that if word got out that she had interfered with the lives of the humans she would be punished gravely. Caleb nodded again but did not speak and did not move from where he stood before her. She bowed her head to him and disappeared as suddenly as she had appeared. Caleb stood there in shock, unsure of what to do.

Anna reappeared in heaven and she was surrounded by higher up angels. Even their emotionless faces seemed to convey a message of anger and disappointment. She had suspected from the beginning that they would know of her actions, despite all she did to shield herself from them. She also knew what the consequences would be.

"Anna," She heard Zachariah's voice as he stepped up to her from within the crowd. "You disobeyed a direct order. You were told to not interfere."

His voice was level, yet dark, darker than usual. She knew that whatever she would say would not be a good enough defense to keep her from punishment. She knew she had disobeyed; she had known what her orders were but had acted anyway.

"I could not stand by and watch our brother suffer." She said, attempting to defend herself anyway. "He does not deserve what he is going through on earth."

"He knew what the possible complications of this mission were. He knew well enough what he was going into when he left for this mission." Zachariah stated. "And you knew what you were doing when you went down there to give them Othniel's Grace. You knew you were disobeying and you proceeded anyway."

"Yes, I disobeyed!" Anna yelled, "I disobeyed to help a fellow angel, to help a brother."

"You know the consequences for disobeying, Anna." Zachariah said, staring her down.

Anna closed her eyes and sighed. _He's right,_ she thought_, I do know what the consequences are._ She took a deep breath and looked up at Zachariah. It felt like an eternity that they stood looking at each other, before she nodded. She stepped back from the crowd gathered around her, took a deep breath, and reached toward her chest to pull out her Grace. Thus was the consequence of disobeying a direct order, loosing your Grace. It hurt like nothing she had ever felt before and in the back of her mind she thought that Othniel must surely have felt this pain when he started his mission. That made her pain even worse, to know that her brother felt this magnitude of pain undeserving. Anna cried out as she ripped her Grace away from her chest and felt herself falling down away from heaven. Soon, everything was black and she felt warm and safe, despite remembering all she had been through.

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Meanwhile on earth

Young Sam Winchester sat in the kitchen of Bobby Singers house. He was coloring in a book filled with pictures of Christmas trees wreaths and presents. Things he had never really seen before. He looked up as Bobby walked into the room.

"Your fathers an idjit, kid." He muttered under his breath.

"Why, Uncle Bobby?" Sam asked.

Bobby sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, scratching at the stubble on his cheek. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a bronze amulet on a black leather sting.

"I go this from Caleb, he told me it was something your father was looking for but the man won't accept it." He said, showing it to the child. Sam admired it as it shimmered in the dim, dusty light.

"Can I have it, Uncle Bobby?" Sam asked. "I've been looking for a Christmas present to get dad."

Bobby studied the boy at the table as he looked over the amulet. _Maybe if it came from one of his boys, the stubborn man would accept it_, he thought.

"Sure, kid. Why not? It's not doing me any good." He said, walking away.

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**_Please review, i wanna know how people like this story. I really hoped you liked it. Keep an eye out for the next chapter, it'll jump to season 4 and the previews we've seen for the season finale._**


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